Time slowly passed by, like watching an inclined hourglass—one hour, two hours.
Surrendering to the moment's brilliant sparkle, ignoring the emptiness of its inevitable end. Enjoying the fleeting sweetness.
I waited for Cheondo to fall deeper into sleep as I stroked her lush hair.
"…Mmm."
Cheondo seemed unwilling to let me go.
Her thighs tightly wrapped around my waist, and her hands bound my back.
She fell asleep in such a manner, ensuring I could not escape.
I pulled the blanket up to my waist and draped it over Cheondo's shoulders.
The inevitable sweat from sleeping soaked into our clothes.
'I have to go to training today.'
Feeling guilty about leaving the comfortably sleeping Cheondo.
Like a security blanket.
That's exactly how it felt right now.
-Rustle.
She rubbed her cheek in her sleep talk.
As I tried to get up by putting strength into my body, the arm that was hugging me tightened.
If I had a young and innocent sister, would it feel like this?
"…Hmm."
I wiped the sweat beaded on her forehead with my hand.
-Click.
Then Cheondo reached out, grabbing my hand on her forehead, and placed my palm against her cheek.
Did she wake up?
Watching her face closely, Cheondo grinned at the warmth of my hand, grinding her teeth.
She doesn't seem to be awake.
"…Corn sausage."
She brought the hand touching her cheek to her mouth. Crunch!
'Eek!'
I silently screamed, pulling my finger out as saliva stretched between us.
Cheondo's face turned sullen as the "corn sausage" left her mouth.
My poor index finger with clear teeth marks.
It throbbed as if burned.
Meanwhile, Cheondo seemed to be searching for the "corn sausage," grinding her teeth and groping my body.
'If this continues, my whole body will become corn sausages.'
I extended a finger and placed it in Cheondo's hand, loosening the grip of her arm.
Again, crunch!
I covered my mouth in sharp pain, freed myself from her embrace, and withdrew my finger.
"Mmm."
Having lost something to grasp, Cheondo stretched out her hand and then fell back asleep as if nothing had happened.
'Let's just go to training.'
I was not feeling particularly sleepy.
After fondly looking at Cheondo, I put on my clothes and went outside.
-Thunk.
Carefully closing the door, I left her chamber and freely roamed the Dowon at night.
-Chirping, chirping.
The night here was quite quiet.
Listening closely, one could hear the sounds of insects.
There were hardly any lights like street lamps. Apart from a few lit houses, there was almost no light illuminating the Dowon.
I began moving towards the place where I always meet the old man.
-Chirring.
As the forest deepened, the sound of insects grew.
Climbing a mountain that's not well-paved.
Occasionally, moths and such would spring from the bushes, but in my current state, they were nothing but a welcome distraction.
"It's peaceful."
Peace.
At the edge of my sight, the old man's back began to appear.
An old man sitting on a rock with the moon overhead instead of the sun.
A long pipe emitted wispy white smoke.
Gazing at the breathtaking view with a cigarette.
It would have been quite a picturesque scene, if not for the smell of blood at the tip of my nose.
"Did you come again?"
"Yes."
The old man responded with a raspy voice to my question.
"My life has become quite cheap. To think they're sending these kinds of people."
Bodies piled up next to the old man.
Only then did I turn my gaze to them.
A horrific sight.
Worthless chunks of meat that defied description.
The old man chuckled dismissively as I shrugged.
"Madman. You're an enigma. Heavy at times, frivolous at others. Your purpose is so blurred, it's barely visible. A chaotic one."
"What are you saying?"
"I'm saying your mental state is inconsistent."
Ignoring the old man's words, I looked at the nearby corpses.
Attempts on Cheonma's life.
The reason the old man had been unable to properly attend to mine and Cheondo's training recently was multifaceted.
Hongyeon mocked that Cheonma did nothing, but the old man was already fully occupied with various matters every day.
"These fools aren't even worth the effort."
The old man stood up and kicked a corpse.
It rolled to my feet.
"Wow…"
An involuntary exclamation.
It was almost as if he had ground up a person.
Indistinguishable to the point of not knowing what animal it was.
If this were to be reported, would it be dubbed as the worst grotesque murder in history?
"You seem to have enjoyed it quite a bit, for what you're saying."
"Don't talk back."
The old man hit my forehead with his long pipe.
Damnably hard, it hurt even more.
"So, why did you come?"
"What do you mean why… I came for training."
"I don't understand how you keep showing up, beaten to a pulp every time."
Because enduring was the only thing I was good at.
Scraping beneath my collarbone, I gathered all my magic power.
A smile appeared on the old man's lips.
"If you keep this up, you'll reach a new level in a year."
I had roughly learned how to conceal my strength. Now, most people can't gauge my full power.
Even the amount of magic power I possessed had seen a significant difference.
Now, more than a month later, I could laugh at my former self.
Yet, it would take a year to earn recognition from this person.
Monsters, all of them.
True genius wasn't in Guan Yu or Zhang Fei but here.
"By the way, Cheondo mentioned that you used to be very kind in the past."
I casually asked the old man while stretching.
He watched me silently, then scoffed as if it were nothing.
"Is that so?"
"They say you're not like that anymore. Is there a reason?"
"Do you need to know?"
Not really.
I shut my mouth at the old man's stern tone.
Must be some personal reason.
He didn't seem inclined to share.
Though I was a father myself, I couldn't begin to understand Cheonma's thoughts.
"…"
The old man's pipe tilted, and the tobacco inside spilled out.
The topic naturally shifted.
"The Dowon will fall within a month or two."
"Is that so?"
"My time is not far off. I doubt I'll achieve my goal. A great calamity is about to occur."
Cheonma had initiated a war.
The World Tree, which ended that threat, cursed the Peach Tree family. That's how history recorded it.
Cheondo referred to it as "karma."
But the old man before me didn't seem like someone who would initiate a war.
He appeared desperate to protect his sanctuary.
Was this what it's about?
Historical records were thoroughly written from the perspective of the victor.
"Heh, heh. Even knowing death is imminent, I guess I should put effort into nurturing future generations."
The old man stood up. Black magic rose from his body like tattoos being drawn.
I watched him and asked,
"Can't we delay the destruction?"
The old man looked at me, lifting the corners of his mouth.
"Why? Now you want to change the future? Well, there is one thing. The accelerated downfall of the Dowon is, in fact, partly because of you."
"What do you mean?"
Young Demon. Dowon.
That's the status I currently hold.
Perhaps the existence of such a being was why there's an urgent need to eliminate the threat of Cheonma.
I intuited what I had to do from one fact the old man shared.
"Before you go back, you just need to die."
Two months.
I only had one month left to stay here.
Time really flew.
Training, working, and mingling with the kids, a day felt like an hour.
Even though I had twice as much time as other people because I didn't sleep, it still felt incredibly fast.
Despite the training getting more intense and the work becoming more demanding,
I could see myself gradually adapting to the hectic schedule.
-Madman. You're an enigma. Heavy at times, frivolous at others. Your purpose is so blurred, it's barely visible. A chaotic one.
Come to think of it, I had heard that before.
Was it a roundabout way of saying I lacked principles?
I asked Hongyeon, who was handling official tasks beside me,
"Hey."
As soon as I spoke, Hongyeon immediately looked up from the documents, a much softer gaze than two months ago.
"What is it?"
"Do I seem like I have some kind of mental disorder?"
"Uh? What, what?"
Hongyeon doubted her ears at the sudden question.
As if wondering if I had eaten something wrong.
"If I speak the truth, what will you do?"
"I won't say anything. Just tell me honestly."
"Since the first time I met you, you seemed like a madman."
Hongyeon carefully tried not to offend me, then suddenly threw a straight pitch.
I didn't expect that answer.
Seeing my shocked face, Hongyeon hurriedly put down her fountain pen and waved her hands.
"It's not meant as an insult. There's something gripping about you, isn't that why I said it first?"
She had a point.
Hongyeon looked at me intently, then furrowed her brows as if trying to recall something. Then, as if she had found the right words, she clapped her hands and said,
"Sometimes your actions are incomprehensible."
"Incomprehensible actions?"
"It seems like you're moving with something very important in mind… But then you act leisurely. Umm. And sometimes you obsess over something simple."
What was she talking about?
Even Hongyeon tilted her head in doubt as she spoke.
Filtering through her words, it seemed like one word could explain it.
"Psychopath! Yeah, you seem like a psychopath."
"Hey."
While I could tolerate being called a madman, being called a psychopath felt a bit too harsh.
I flicked her forehead, and Hongyeon frowned.
"…You asked for honesty."
Sometimes, I crave flattery and adoration.
A psychopath, huh? That's not it.
But it seemed Hongyeon was sincerely speaking her mind.
"Maybe you should visit a hospital?"
"When have you ever cared about what I think?"
"…Sometimes."
Another flick on the forehead.
"Ouch!"
Hongyeon rubbed the front of her bright red hair, expressing her pain.
Her eyebrows slanted in frustration.
She tried to glare at me with one eye but ended up looking down, defeated.
I regretted bringing up this topic. I didn't even know why I started it.
I got up from my seat and started getting dressed.
"Are you leaving work now?"
"Yeah. It seems like things will run smoothly without me. I was supposed to quit last month, but somehow I ended up staying until now."
"Is that so?"
Hongyeon gathered the documents, tapping them on the desk, and shoved them into a corner.
Her face, which looked frustrated just a moment ago, now seemed somewhat relieved yet bitter.
Today was my last day of work.
"What will you do now?"
"Training, and… start preparing to leave."
"You've certainly caused quite a stir."
From Hongyeon's perspective, that would be the case.
Causing trouble in the Dowon, seeking out Cheonma.
Becoming the Young Demon, then opposing it and getting beaten for it.
Such a person suddenly took up management and got involved, surprisingly turning out to be quite useful, always sticking around during work.
Now, without saying much, we took care of our tasks, making us decent political and business partners.
After putting away her fountain pen, Hongyeon also stood up.
"…I want to drink. I have much more responsibility now."
A roundabout way of asking if I was going to drink.
The more I saw it, the less I got used to the cautious look in Hongyeon's eyes.
"Later."
Drinking sounded good, but I had tasks piling up.
I had been helping with Cheonma's work for the past week and must keep my promise with Cheondo.
I also needed to resolve the misunderstanding with Baekdo.
"Is that so? Make sure it's later."
Hongyeon gave me an awkward smile.
As she bent down to put away the documents she was holding, her reddish-brown bangs covered her eyes.
Not much time left.